c. 2000 Fengqing Fengpai Teji | Aged Raw Pu Er · 357g

An aged Fengpai Pu Er cake from Fengqing, kept in Vancouver since 2014. We believe this tea dates from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Its precise production year is not identifiable, so we describe it as circa 2000.

Some teas arrive with a printed date. Others carry their history through their wrapper, their maker and the people who have kept them. Mr. Zhang Tao purchased these cakes more than twenty years ago. That history, together with the producer’s name on the wrapper, helps us place this tea around the turn of the century. Please note: ~15 years of storage in China followed by 12 in Canada have made a mark on the paper that wraps these cakes; some of the wrappers are not intact and display some damage. The tea, however, is delicious. We ship each cake in a zip lock bag to preserve its integrity.

Why we say circa 2000

The Dianhong Group name provides an important clue. Fengqing Tea Factory was restructured into Yunnan Dianhong Group in 1996, placing this wrapper’s corporate identity in the period that followed. Mr. Zhang Tao’s purchase more than twenty years ago provides a separate piece of the history.

No production date is visible on the photographed wrapper. Older Pu Er wrappers commonly lacked printed dates before 2004, with more standardized labeling emerging during the mid-2000s. An undated wrapper is consistent with this era, but it is not proof of a particular year or a firm pre-2004 cutoff.

Together, the company name, the reported purchase history and the traditional presentation support our late-1990s to early-2000s estimate. Circa 2000 is our best estimate, not a verified production date.

Fengqing’s factory heritage

Fengqing is closely associated with Dianhong, Yunnan black tea. The factory’s history reaches back to the Shunning Experimental Tea Factory, established in 1939. It became Yunnan Fengqing Tea Factory in 1954 and later Dianhong Group. The two names on this wrapper reflect that continuing lineage.

Aging in Vancouver

These cakes have aged in Vancouver since 2014. Their years here form an important part of the history we can share, alongside Mr. Zhang Tao’s earlier purchase.

We have not established the storage conditions before 2014. Earlier assessments also differ on whether this cake is raw or ripe Pu Er, so we are leaving that classification open pending further verification.